Every NHS patient to be given right to go abroad for FREE treatment

Every NHS patient is to be given the right to go abroad for free treatment.

They will be able to escape queues and the fear of superbug infections and head anywhere within Europe under a blueprint for 'health tourism'.

In almost all cases, they will be able to send the bill to the NHS - prompting fears that its finances could be thrown into chaos.

Previously, patients who chose to pay for better treatment in France, Germany, or other EU countries had to mount legal action to make the NHS reimburse them.

Health shoparound: Examples of costs of medical procedures overseas

Health shoparound: Examples of costs of medical procedures overseas

But an EU directive on cross-border healthcare, to be published today, will let patients shop around freely in all 27 member states.

The move is designed to ease congestion in countries with long waiting lists and give patients greater freedom.

They would have the right to seek any treatment offered by the NHS - such as cancer care or hip replacements - anywhere which would provide it more quickly.

Patients would have to pay upfront where they were treated, but as long as the cost was lower than in the NHS, they could reclaim it in full.

However, patients are likely to have to pay for their travel and accommodation, if they stay outside hospital.

The attractions of EU treatment for Britons are clear.

NHS waiting times have fallen dramatically as Labour has poured billions into the system, but they are still longer than in many other countries.

The UK also has a higher incidence of hospital superbugs and poorer survival rates for many conditions, including some cancers.

Take your pick: Patients will be able to escape queues and pick the best treatment

Take your pick: Patients will be able to escape queues and pick the best treatment

For the same reasons, experts say, there is unlikely to be an influx of foreigners to the NHS.

Procedures are more expensive and queues longer here, although world-renowned facilities such as the Royal Marsden cancer hospital are potential draws.

The plan could threaten the stability of NHS finances, however, as the health service will lose revenue to hospitals overseas.

Budgets could be thrown into chaos by patients jumping queues and then billing the NHS.

There is also serious concern about Britons living abroad charging the NHS for all their medical care.

Currently, many rely on private medical insurance to cover local treatment.

Keith Pollard, director of Treatment Abroad, a company which helps patients get care overseas, said last night: 'This is the first step to creating a truly European market in healthcare.

'It could revolutionise the way we experience healthcare in this country and throughout Europe. It's very good news for the fast-developing medical tourism industry. The directive will take the concept of patient choice to a new level.'

The Tories predicted that many patients would take up the offer to travel abroad.

The party's health spokesman in Brussels, former health minister John Bowis, said: 'We will see people voting with their feet on the Government's handling of the NHS.

'People have been travelling abroad for treatments for years and the procedure needs to be formalised.'

Under the draft proposals, member states will be able to impose the same conditions on cross-border care as they do for domestic treatment - for instance, a requirement to consult a GP or a hospital specialist.

The NHS would be obliged to fund all overseas outpatient treatment - such as scans and minor operations - even where patients do not seek authorisation beforehand.

But Health Secretary Alan Johnson is fighting for the right to make patients obtain NHS permission in advance for major operations, which mean a stay in hospital.

The health department said: 'We are absolutely committed to ensuring that the NHS retains the ability to decide what care it will fund.'

The EU, however, is understood to be insisting that funding for major procedures can be refused only if the NHS can show that services here will suffer as a result.

And Britain does not have a veto to stop the plan becoming EU law if a majority of countries back it.

Doctors' leaders said the move would be a spur for the NHS to improve standards - but warned that the well-off and well-educated would be more likely to travel.

Dr Terry John, chairman of the BMA's international committee, said: 'Patient mobility must not be just for the wealthy and educated.

'Standards of care for people who choose to stay in their home country, or are unable to travel abroad, must be maintained.'

Some doctors are also warning that there could be problems in providing follow-up care, particularly for patients returning from countries where surgical techniques and procedures are different.